The Scot's Angel - Keira Montclair Page 0,16
it may not be perfect yet, I believe it will hold until Aunt Jennie gets here.” She bent down so her eyes were level with Sela’s leg. “It looks straight. Sela, you must not move it until Aunt Jennie gets here. I’m going to rest it on a board and wrap some linens around it to hold it in place.”
Mama closed her eyes and said, “It must be where it should be. The pain is easing a bit. I have to sleep.”
Claray watched her aunt pull her sire off to the side. “The color is better, and that was what worried me most. I think Aunt Jennie will be able to wrap it well enough for it to heal cleanly. She’ll have to stay immobile until Aunt Jennie can get here.”
“I’ll help her. Jamie can take over all my duties.”
“The rest of us will help, too. Don’t worry, Connor. Aunt Jennie travels quickly. She should be here in less than two days.”
Hearing that brought Claray some measure of relief. Her mama would be all right. So focused was she on that bit that she never noticed her sire came back over to her side. “You’ll sit with your mother for a bit? I’m going to speak with Jamie, then I’ll return.”
“Aye, but then I’d like to find Thorn. I don’t know where he went.” She did her best not to let on exactly how much that bothered her, but it was difficult.
“Thorn. Why did he barge in so quickly?”
“Because a spider dropped on me and I screamed.” She hung her head, embarrassed that they still bothered her so much after so many years. “’Twas my fault, not Thorn’s. Please don’t punish him.”
Her father crossed his arms and said, “No one person is at fault. I’ve told your mother and Aunt Kyla not to climb that ladder without me or Finlay or Jamie around. The reason is we could have caught the ladder where Kyla and your mother are too slender to stop it once it tips. They know better.”
He leaned over and kissed her brow, then before he left, he said, “I’ll be back quickly. Don’t take the fault on your shoulders. It does not belong there. We will not throw stones. ’Twas an accident.”
Claray sighed in relief, but she couldn’t help but wonder where Thorn had gone.
The door opened, much less forcefully this time, and suddenly Nari was rushing over to her. “Thorn left.”
Claray grabbed his hands in shock. “What? But why?”
“I spoke with him briefly. He feels he’s at fault, and he said he needed to go for a ride.” He squeezed her hands and released them, glancing over to the hearth. “Your mama is asleep. ’Tis a good sign.”
“Aye, her foot is better, but we need my aunt. Does Thorn do that often? Ride off on his own?”
Nari shrugged. “He’s done it a few times, but he usually comes back.”
“Usually?” Claray asked.
“Aye, once I had to go find him. But he was much younger then. Said he was never coming back, but I managed to change his mind. We’re like brothers.”
“Mayhap you should go after him, Nari. I hope he isn’t thinking of running off.” Claray bit her lip, wondering if she’d just lost her one chance at happiness.
“I’ll give him until the morrow. If he’s not back by then, I’ll go after him.”
***
Thorn pushed his horse until he knew it was cruel to continue. He found a stream and led the beast over for some quick refreshment, stopping to throw some water on his own face, too. An apple tree sat not far away, so he picked as many as he could, stuffing them into his saddle bag and handing one to his horse. “You deserve it. Forgive me for pushing you so hard.”
Then he sat down and chewed on an apple of his own.
Where was he headed? He had no idea, but Sela’s screams had pushed him out of the keep. He thought of Claray and how upset she’d be that he had left, but surely her mother and father wouldn’t want him around anymore.
Nari would miss him and probably Loki, too, but no one else would be sorry to see him go.
Except…if he didn’t return, he’d be backing out of his pursuit of Claray’s hand in marriage. The life he’d always dreamed of would slip through his fingers like so much sand. At the same time, he couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Sela’s pains, of hearing more of her cries, and knowing her